It doesn’t bother me if just one of the above items gets plopped down. But usually it’s a combination of these items together that drives me bonkers!!

After coming and going in different directions, things begin to pile up. And finally it gets to where I just can’t take anymore!

In that moment I am on a mission. (And anyone who is in the room is strongly encouraged to help me in this mission.)

It’s time to clean up the clutter. Time to put things away in their rightful place.

The wallet and keys need to go somewhere else, but not here. The dirty cups need to go in the sink. Pieces of scrap paper need to be trashed.

And junk mail? That’s a no-brainer…in the trash!

Once that’s accomplished, I feel better and can function again.

Just maybe this is a powerful picture of what we do with the clutter of LIFE.

Things slowly begin to pile up.

First it’s one thing. And then another.

One emergency to throw us off. An unexpected episode that sets you in a tail spin. A forgotten commitment. Someone asking you to do something else. People and projects pulling you in opposite directions.

Just one of these things might not be so bad by itself. But when they start to pile up, you can feel it coming. When you go from full to empty with no time to fill up. And before you know it, your life is full of clutter.

I can’t take this anymore!

And one by one, we can start to tackle the things that clutter us up. Not a clutter we can see. But the clutter on the inside. The clutter of our negative thoughts. The clutter of our distorted perspective.

The clutter of our soul.

Some things just need to be put in a different place. (Do I need to delegate something to someone else? Do I need to say no to a request of my time?)

Some things we need to get rid of. (The feelings of hopelessness. The toxic thinking that spirals out of control.)

And some things we just need to accept. (That person we want to change is out of our control. The season of life we must go through to get to the other side.)

And once we start to clean up the clutter, we can breathe again. We receive clarity.

We feel hope.

We can even invite others around us to help. People to hold us accountable. Friends to walk alongside us.

To help us sort through the messes of life.

I will probably continue to lose the ongoing battle of keeping my kitchen island cleared of clutter.

But I can most certainly win the war that stirs in my soul.

It’s a constant battle. Day after day. Moment by moment.

But when I surrender to God and reach out for help, the clutter of life gets put in place. Not an overnight fix. But a gradual victory over time, through each season of life.

I think it’s okay to want an uncluttered kitchen. But I most certainly need to be more aware of the clutter of my soul.

What about you? Are things piling up in your world? Feeling overwhelmed with the clutter?

Let’s reach out and call on the One who can help us sort through it all. I believe with all my heart that Jesus is waiting for us to ask Him to clean up our clutter.

The less clutter there is, the more room He has to give us PEACE.

Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. ~Psalm 25:4-5

I like the way David writes in Psalm 13 when his life was falling apart. Even though it was written many centuries ago, the pain and agony is no different from what we feel today:

How long, Oh Lord? Will you forget me forever?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Give light to my eyes or I will surely sleep in death!

I’m right there with you, David. Sometimes I feel like God has surely forgotten me. Surely he’s forgotten or he wouldn’t have let my life fall apart, right?

Sometimes negative thoughts shoot like arrows straight to my soul. I know I shouldn’t be thinking such horrible things, but I just feel so overwhelmed with all that’s happened.

Come on, God! How long are you gonna let this person ruin my life? When will they be held accountable? Do you even know what’s happening?

When life falls apart, sometimes we don’t see any light at all. All feels dark. The bottom drops out. Disappointment can easily turn to despair. And if despair lingers long enough, it turns to deep depression. When you’re depressed long enough, you’d be perfectly fine to just never wake up.

I have felt this way before when life falls apart. You’ve probably felt this way when life falls apart.

I mean, heck, look at David! Not only did he feel this way, but he wrote it down for goodness sake!!

I’m so glad he wrote it down. Because Psalm 13 doesn’t stop there. He pours his heart out to God in verses 1-4 after his life falls apart. But then he keeps going. Look at what David does in verses 5-6. Even in the midst of his life falling apart in front of his very eyes, look at the 3 things he embraces:

I trust in your unfailing love.

So he trusts in God’s love. A perfect love. Unfailing.

People will fail us all the time… Even those who love us the most.

He embraces trust, and not his feelings. Not his emotions. When we’re falling apart, feelings and emotions will absolutely deceive you. David is wise to put his trust in something that won’t fail him.

My heart rejoices in your salvation.

Are you kidding me here, David? What is there to rejoice about when life is unraveling all around you? This is what I thought when I first read this verse! He’s not rejoicing about his circumstances. He’s not rejoicing in the way people are treating him. He certainly isn’t rejoicing about feeling alone.

But he rejoices in his salvation.

He knows (not feels) that God has his back, no matter what. He knows that ultimately, no matter what happens with the junk spewing around him, he belongs to God.

I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.

Wow. Even in the midst of utter turmoil and feeling shaken, David chooses to sing. And he wasn’t singing to perform for anyone in this instance. He sings a song to the Lord. Why?

Because of God’s goodness.

He probably thought about all the blessings God had poured out upon him before his current catastrophe. When we focus on God’s goodness from the past, it gets us through the present problems.

And if you don’t like the sound of your own voice? Then turn on some Christian music and sing along with someone else’s. Yes! Praise and worship music lifts my spirit when I’m in a slump.

Even if life isn’t falling apart for you right now, at some point it will (John 16:33). Purpose now in your heart to embrace these 3 things for when those moments come crashing down.

If you are in the midst of life falling apart right now, embrace these powerful truths and hold on….He is with you.

A couple of weeks ago, I traveled to New York City for a fast-paced, adventurous get-away with my mom. A popular landmark constantly being pointed out to us was the Chrysler Building. This skyscraper stands strong at 1,046 feet tall with 77 floors. Straining your neck to look at it from the ground, it towers over you with its monstrous stance. Insurmountable. Overwhelming. You can’t even fathom how tall it is.

But just a few days later we ventured up to the top of the Empire State Building. Once we finally arrived at the observation deck, we peered out at the magnificent view in front of us. We tried to point out the landmarks we’d previously seen. Suddenly it came into view. There it was!

The Chrysler Building….

Really? Was this the same building we observed earlier?

The same building that appeared monstrous, insurmountable and overwhelming now looked much smaller! From the view at the top, you could see the entire building without straining your neck. You could see for miles! The view was breathtaking and spectacular.

The difference between the ground view and the top view was PERSPECTIVE.

As I looked out over the magnificent view of New York City, a powerful truth hit me hard:

From our perspective, the challenges and trials we face appear to be insurmountable, monstrous and quite overwhelming. But from God’s perspective, our challenges and trials are part of a magnificent and spectacular plan that only He can see all at once!

As humans, we will never have the top-of-the-observation-deck view of our lives. We will not be able to see the whole picture but only one part at a time. But we can trust our faithful God because He always has the upper view of everything.

We can absolutely trust Him with the things we can’t see.

The challenges that seem overwhelming.

The trials that threaten to strain our souls.

Yes. That is what true faith is, dear friend! Trusting God with the things we can’t see, knowing that He sees it all.

Where are you today? Are you looking up at something that seems overwhelming? Is there a challenge smack in front of you, crowding your vision?

I encourage you to run to your Heavenly Father to the top of the observation deck. Take his hand and let him lead you out to a place of rest. Let your soul soar with peace as you gaze upon the spectacular purpose He has for you.

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is like a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe.

“A woman who lives with the stress of an overwhelmed schedule will often ache with the sadness of an underwhelmed soul.”

(Lysa TerKeurst from her latest book The Best Yes)

After hearing this truth, I can’t seem to get it out of my heart. In fact, I desire for it to stay there….for good. This truth resonates so deeply in my soul and it makes sense after really digesting it fully. Why? Because this is where I live. This is so often my life in a nutshell. I feel pulled in so many directions. And many of those directions are good things! Yet some of those directions are my own human flesh. Things I want for myself. Things that aren’t part of God’s plan for me.

Oh how I long to fully embrace God’s purpose for me in every area of my life. Every area. My marriage. My parenting. My relationships with friends. Anything God calls me to do.

So if I am feeling overwhelmed, something is wrong. Very wrong. Overwhelmed is not a word I see Jesus using to describe his calling while upon this earth. Overwhelmed is not a word listed in the fruits of the spirit. Overwhelmed is not supposed to be something that describes a follower of Jesus.

Yet we use this word frequently to describe our lives:

I’m overwhelmed with my job.

I’m overwhelmed with my kids’ demands.

I’m overwhelmed with my husband’s expectations.

I’m overwhelmed with serving people.

I’m overwhelmed with everything.

Can you relate to this truth? Do you feel stressed out with an overwhelmed schedule? Do any of the above statements resonate with you? We’re certainly not alone.

So what’s the answer to feeling overwhelmed with all the things we feel pulled to do? Or feel pulled to be?

I do know for certain that my Jesus calls me to rest in Him. To give my burdens to Him. To surrender my soul to Him. The central verse for my life is from the words of Jesus in Matthew,“Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest.” While I cling to this truth with my entire being, sometimes I just need something practical to flesh out what this really looks like.

One thing I will be doing over the days ahead is reading the book by Lysa TerKeurst called The Best Yes. I can already tell it’s going to be profound and speak to where I live. I recommend it to you as well, dear friend.

In the meantime, I’m going to be looking closely at my schedule to make sure it’s God’s schedule. Anything outside of that will bring stress. I want to replace my stress with His rest!

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest.”